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Otto Aberrill
At 72, Otto Thorben Aberrill is a standing professor at the ITT Magical Institute and the oldest of the human adventurers on The Last Colony expedition. While possessing no inherent magic of his own, he uses a form of physik mastery and imbued items to produce greater magical effects. Aberrill's Past As the first son of the great Professor of History, Adrian Aberrill, Otto grew up in Raventop as one of the many children of the professors at the Institute of Textural Technologus Magic, AKA the ITT Magical Institute. From an early age he began his studies in maths, language, history, and physik. By fourteen, years earlier than most students, he was permitted to begin the pursuit of magical studies. While not possessing inherent magical abilities, he quickly learned that “magic” was only that beyond understanding. Similar effects could be created using the the knowledge of physik, the occasional imbued item, and much trial and error. What started as simple tricks evolved into practical wizardry, of an odd sort. His father saw no future in it, but as long as Otto was completing his studies, he paid no mind to his extracurricular tinkering. Though Aberrill Sr. had an altogether different opinion of Otto’s brother, Rowen, who took to painting and the arts. His mother was supportive of both, but as a previous history student, she understood little of what Otto was doing.' ' ' Aberrill had few close friends growing up aside from his brother, and was entertained mainly by his growing hobby. At eighteen he began his first apprenticeship under Professor Akis, visiting ruins and oddities should name these throughout Aeron on brief excursions. This later led to a two-year study on Ceraxis at the age of 20, traveling throughout the human coastal territories researching the properties of Ceraxian elements and magics. He was especially enamored by an impressively absorbent sand-powder, found in beds of gel-like marbles across numerous desert pools after the seasonal flash rains.' ' ' After returning to Aeron, Otto ventured into more advanced studies, all while continuing his apprenticeship with Akis, going on longer and more daring travels in search of knowledge until Akis’ retirement years later. By now Rowen was far long in the arts at Arkhellein Academy and a healthy rivalry developed, though being far away made visits infrequent; many conversations were had by raven.' ' ' At 30, Otto began his professorship with the university, teaching classes in field study and basic artificery. Not long after, Otto met his soon-to-be wife Anne, a bright and witty baker’s daughter. What she lacked in scholastic knowledge, she more than made up for in street smarts and a quick tongue.' ' ' Otto Aberrill continued to teach and live at the university through the years, with the occasional sabbatical granting him leave for his research and travels. He and his wife maintained a close relationship, despite his long absences; though, for this reason they never had children. His brother Rowen had several, which somewhat relieved Aberrill of the responsibility of carrying on the family name.' ' ' At 49, Aberrill’s wife caught pneumonia and was bedridden for several months. Recovery was slow. Just when things looked hopeful, her condition took a turn for the worst and she passed on the 20th of The Month of Twisty Straws, year 1997. Aberrill never remarried.' ' ' The void in his life was filled with a growing obsession to unravel knowledge of the arcane. With his tenure, he could afford to travel as much as he liked, baring he continued teaching by correspondence. This resulted in several year-long excursions that begged more questions than they answered, but answered many questions nonetheless. Buried in his work, time passed quickly. Eventually, at 67, his research led him back unto one of his first discoveries, a pair of old scrolls containing translations of a dead language. Uncovered texts pointed that this language could very well be that of a lost culture in the unexplored southern continent of Austertruncatis. And so he prepares for his trip, mixing chemicals, packing gadgets, and waiting for his ship to arrive. What Makes a Professor of the Arcanum The rough tellings of Aberrill's adventures: Lvl 1-- Lost Scrolls At the age of 17, while wandering the depths of the Arcanum, Aberrill discovered an abandoned passage in the old archives of the University. He navigated its labyrinth and uncovered scrolls containing translations of a dead language. This experience was the spark of curiosity, leading him to travel in search of other wonderments. Lvl 2-- The Wolves 26 years old. While harvesting a rare mushroom in the forest, Aberrill heard the cries of children. He ran to the edge of a forest ridge, from where he saw a pack of wolves had chased a small boy and girl up a tree. Approaching the wolves, he threw two glass baubles of a milky liquid that shattered into a wispy creeping smoke crackling with thunder, which scared off the wolves. Lvl 3-- Lair of The Grimlock 32 years old. Aberrill was in search of amberstone, a mineral that radiates heat used to keep the body warm--often set in a pendant or amulet. With this he could travel to the high mountains and beyond without fear of freezing. Old mining maps pointed to an amberstone vein down a century old mineshaft. Only deep within did Aberrill discover the mine had been transformed into a Grimlock lair, containing dozens of Grimlock. Using cunning and illusions he made a safe escape with a geode of precious amberstone, which he later had carved into two pendants. Lvl 4-- The Fallen Moon 46 years old. Perched atop a high ridge in the cliffs west of Trenton lies a giant eagle’s nest. The single egg within was no ordinary egg, but a sacred relic said to be carved of moonstone, which the eagle guarded as its believed-to-be offspring. Aberrill had every intention of recovering the relic undetected, but regrettably ended up killing the giant eagle in his attempt to flee. It burned up like a moth to flame when hit with beams three from Aberrill’s prismatic lantern. Lvl 5--''' 54 years old. '''Lvl 6-- The Temple of Aeo 63 years old. Aberrill obtained an interior map of the Temple of Aeo dating back roughly 2000 years that contradicts the current temple’s layout. He visited Gigaplax to explore the temple’s cavernous halls. Aberrill finds Daxus pacing in front of wall, that according to his map should be a stairway leading down. "Excuse me, has there always been a wall there?" "What are you getting at?" "According to this (points to map) this wall shouldn't exist." Cue mist dust scene, Daxus smashing down wall. Both travel down the stairwell. Air elementals that Daxus can't hit. Aberrill has just the trick. Anticlimactic entry into the inner sanctum of the temple. Carpenter's cup; priceless treasure, but Daxus leads them to another, seemingly unimportant room, containing an item of Ah Dahm’s. (Ah Dahm's stuff is out of place in this temple, why is it there? [Actually... Not *that* out of place) We leave and go our separate ways. Aberrill ignores the treasure and instead finds what looks to be a shipping ledger speaking of an ancient repository of knowledge in a continent to the west. ' Lvl 7-- The Vault of Knowledge' 65 years old. In the high mountains north of Vordemberg, upon Adreaus’ summit, there sits a place of ancient study, dug into the mountain, abandoned for a millenia. Years of research led Aberrill to this place, The Archividium--the lost archives. With his apprentice Celic in tow, Aberrill defeated the ice golem Ylliah guarding the tower library. It’s here, overlooking a sea of clouds pierced by mountain peaks, where he discovered a wealth of forgotten knowledge, The Scientia Magica. Unable to transport all thirty-six volumes, he chose to return with only books twelve, seventeen, and thirty-two, which Celic carried down from the mountain. Continued... Two years later at the age of 65, Aberrill made several advances in the imbutation of magic into non-magical items. His research in the field of Physik Mastery and Mechanical Auto-Imbutarti continues to this day...